First crabs of season delivered to Marin

SOME OF THE first Dungeness crabs of the season arrived in Marin Thursday afternoon at the Loch Lomond Marina dock in San Rafael as the commercial crabbing season started along the central California Coast.

"The crab we have look really good, but there might not be a lot of them this season," said crabber Nick Krieger of Bolinas whose "Sarah M." delivered a payload of the crustaceans to Loch Lomond. "It is all cyclical. We had some smalls ones we have had to throw back too. But we should have enough through the holidays."

A price for crab has yet to be set, said Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond. "We have to count all the crab first and get the price," he said. "But we will have them."

Dungeness crabs generally prefer cooler northern and central California waters and are uncommon south of Point Conception near Santa Barbara. They are usually found on sandy or sand-mud bottoms at depths of less than 300 feet.